Stories from the field

Stories tagged with farming

If you see a bug in your house, do you reach for a can of Raid? Blair Leano-Helvey, a Kiva Zip borrower in Louisville, KY, wants you to know there’s a better solution. Better for you and your family, better for the planet, and better for small business....

Born and raised in Westchester County, NY, which my NYC friends refer to as “Upstate”, you may be surprised to hear I’d never been on a farm before. Fortunately, Kiva Zip gave me the chance to change that with a two-day farm tour. I hop into a Zip car in downtown Manhattan, with a dream and my farm-friendly boots. With Katherine driving, Ushma coordinating the trip, and myself navigating (and blasting 90’s music), the Kiva Zip NYC team is ready to begin our farm tour.

First stop, Schaghticoke, NY. Ejay and his eager herding dog are waiting to greet us at R’eisen Shine Farm. We... Continue Reading >>

They may be continents apart, but Costa Rica and Zimbabwe face some of the same challenges when it comes to life in a rural community. A lack of electricity means no fridges to keep food chilled. Cooking is often done over an open fire inside the home but, increasingly, the severe health risks (particularly to women and children) of the smoky environment are becoming evident. And there’s unlikely, either, to be ready access to running hot water.

How to address such challenges forms part of the research activities of the renowned Earth University in...

We’d left at 6.30 in the morning, and travelled several hours through the district of Guruve, in Northern Zimbabwe, along increasingly potholed, flooded and narrow ‘roads’. Our aim was to visit Melter, one of the young women who have taken a Kiva loan through the local partner here in Zimbabwe, The Campaign for Female Education (Camfed). We’d come to find out how things were going with her poultry raising business.

Given the journey, we were at first slightly concerned to find she wasn’t at home: like the other Camfed ‘learner guides’ who receive Kiva loans, Melter is very active... Continue Reading >>

For three days in February, I visited Kiva borrowers in Nyanza Province near Lake Victoria in the southwest of Kenya. The visits took me to the city of Kisii and the nearby towns of Nyamira and Kenyenya via countless pickup truck, boda-boda, and matatu rides. Although it was invaluable to see a side of Kenya other than my base of Nairobi, the remoteness of the region gave me a new appreciation for the hard work that Kiva partners put in to service our clients.

It is a delight to meet Munara. She is 60 years old, chatty and bubbly, ever ready to pose for photos and talk about her family and farm. Her personality seems to rub off on her family, both her sons, Tolon and Bakyt, also have warm personalities. They ask many questions about Kiva and the Internet.

Her husband, Abakir, is more quiet, but is still very eager to put on his best fur hat to match the beautiful scarf that his wife has put on for the photo below. They live in a small one-bedroom house in a village in Kyrgyzstan. The kitchen is built as a part of the... Continue Reading >>

My first boda experience in Kenya occurred on a wet morning, in the pitch-black darkness that is the 5 o'clock hour, on uneven dirt roads winding through the rural farmland of Isibania, Kenya. I was wearing the broken helmet of a former Kiva Fellow who had been in a motorcycle accident in exactly these conditions.

The beauty of being a person afflicted with many fears is that is doesn’t take much to experience an adrenaline rush. In this situation, I might as well have been free climbing Mt. Kenya for the amount of dopamine... Continue Reading >>

If you ever get the chance to visit Richmond, you will most likely spend some time in an area called Carytown. Strolling down West Cary Street you can linger at restaurants, and shop in one of the many locally owned establishments on the street. You will also see not one, not two, and not even three, but four grocery stores all within a few blocks of one another. There is certainly no shortage of access to fresh food in this area.

In the United States, during these months a traditional holiday meal usually includes a roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls, salad, and lots of dessert. For the US holiday of Thanksgiving, this menu is so traditional that many do not even consider being able to fully celebrate Thanksgiving unless there is turkey involved. As most countries have their traditional holiday meals, right now in Ecuador many areas preparing for their traditional feast as the December holidays are right around the corner. Instead of fattening up turkeys like in the US, many small farmers in Ecuador are... Continue Reading >>

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Kiva Fellows are volunteers who maximize Kiva's impact around the world. By working closely with our Field Partners in over 50 countries, they make sure loan dollars go where they're needed most -- while having a few adventures along the way. Learn more >>